“Oh, look.”
As I was thinking to myself, the towering humanoid tilted its round, protruding head in a way that felt deeply…unrealistic. A different image appeared, as if he had been adjusting his line of vision.
“What is it this time…?”
This image was drawn with a light contrast, like an ink painting. It was a scene in which an army of daemons got wiped out by a huge explosion.
“Is this…the battle at Filsand?”
The image continued to play in gloomy shades.
There was a scene where an imp was blown to dust. There was a scene in which a fiend, crawling on the ground, was tossed in the air by a giant’s broom. In one scene, a fallen gigant’s head was looking up at a horse floating in the sky. There was a man in robes riding on that horse.
It was me.
“From the perspective of the daemons, I’m a bad guy…”
“Raaaagh…!”
“Margilus! Margilus!”
At some point, the monitor in the sky showed me from a number of different angles. The call of the King of Daemons, dripping with hatred for me, filled the air.
“I’m the one who destroyed the daemonic legion and their nests…”
From my research so far, there was no way that daemons could recognize an individual. For example, on a battlefield, daemons might behave in a way that targeted a strong warrior or commanders. But, that was only a reaction to the human’s role. It was the same as how no matter how much humans observed ants, even if they could distinguish the soldier ants from the worker ants, they couldn’t tell the difference between individuals.
I thought about this strange place and the intentions of the daemons while huddling with the elf maiden in the shadow of the rocks. I directed my questions to her.
“Actually seeing this place makes me realize… The daemons are far too different from us. Even if they are aware of me as an individual, isn’t it a bit unnatural for a daemon to come up with a strategy of manipulating information in order to defeat me? It’s just too human.”
“I think so, too. But—”
“You’re both right.”
Out of nowhere, there came a third voice.
Surprised, we looked up and saw something that we hadn’t even sensed approaching. It was another humanoid. This one was pure white. Completely monochrome. It didn’t have eyes or a mouth, but there was definitely a voice coming from its head…a human voice.
“Welcome.” It spoke pleasantly. “How very nice to meet you. The Great Wizard Geo Margilus, here at last.”
Its entire body was smooth and without definition. It clearly had limbs and a head, but there was no sign of a human-like skeleton. The size was just barely within the human range.
It was a completely stark white…thing. If I’d come across something like this while walking at night on Earth, I definitely would’ve fainted.
“I do apologize for my appearance.” The thing continued to speak as if it had a mouth. It was a young voice.
“Wh-who are you?!” The elf maiden asked in a sharp voice, jumping in front of me, as if to protect me.
“I’m sorry, but I won’t be telling you my name. I’m just an old daemonist,” the monochrome thing bowed elegantly to accompany its cheeky response. A daemonist? So that meant it was once a human (although there was also the possibility of dwarf or elf). Just based on its appearance, I didn’t get the sense that it was one of those urban legend monsters. Humans probably looked like this at times.
“I see…” No sense dwelling on logic. We were in an ominous place outside the boundaries of the human world. It would be better to talk to this daemonist than to try and take on the King of Daemons. It towered over the muddy sea like a mountain.
“So, are you the man behind the curtain?” I asked him.
“M-me? No way.” He laughed at my question, looking over at me.
Mmm. I didn’t really even know what curtain I was talking about. For the time being, I just figured I would toss out questions and try to fish for information. I had calmed down enough to try that much, at least.
“It’s not that dramatic. Well, except I did actually have a hand in the information manipulation you mentioned before,” the monochrome thing replied. There was no way to confirm if he was telling the truth, but I decided to believe him for now.
Setting that aside, what should I be doing with this man in front of me? I should probably try to get as much information that we don’t know about the daemons as possible.
“Then let me ask you—”
“Lord Wizard,” the mystic warned me, grabbing hold of my robes. “You shouldn’t get involved with such a dubious monster…”
“No, let’s think of this as a great opportunity.”
She was right. it was dubious and dangerous. But if we didn’t get this information now, then I didn’t know why we were there in the first place. This might be something I was never supposed to see, but still.
“Well that’s a relief to hear,” the monochrome monster said, amused.
“There is a lot I want to ask you. First of all, do you have considerable influence over the daemons? For example, are you able to start and stop brood events?”
“Heh heh…” His monochrome body shook at my question. It seemed he was laughing. However, if the answer was yes, then there was something I had to do no matter what. “You’re overestimating me. The only influence I have is being able to direct a smidgen of their consciousness and memory. Basically, we are their followers and servants.”
“So, that means you help encourage activities that open Epicenters so the daemons can destroy the humans as quickly as possible?”
“I do believe I detect some resentment in your voice, but in a nutshell, that’s right.”
I felt nothing but resentment. But that discussion was for another day. “I’ve always wanted to ask a daemonist… The daemons are supposed to destroy all humans, right? Even if you had a good experience using the daemons’ power temporarily, as a human, you will eventually be destroyed, too, right?”
There was silence.
Somewhere along the line, the mystic had stopped complaining, and was now attentively listening to our discussion. Her green eyes were full of both nervousness and interest. Who wouldn’t be interested?
His answer to the question was simple. “Well, of course. Your point being?”
“So you want both humans and yourself to be destroyed?”
“Naturally. Daemonists hate humans—themselves included!—and this world. We hate everything, from the bottom of our hearts. We hate humanity so much we can’t stand it… That’s the kind of person who becomes a daemonist.” The monochrome monster spread his arms and spoke proudly. I’d thought that I might get somewhere with him, but he was bonkers.
But I couldn’t give up yet. He seemed to be moving around here freely, and had some sort of influence over the King of Daemons, so he must be a central figure among the daemonists.
“So, is there really no room for discussion or compromise? For example, completely separating the daemon and human realms so they don’t come in contact…?”
“Oh, come now, Geo! You want to have a discussion, after personally slaughtering over ten thousand daemons?” He spat out his words in a spiteful tone. “You think this is a negotiation?”
“The daemons were invading. We just defended ourselves. But…if apologizing for the slaughter will help smooth things over, then I will.”
Although I felt indignation, I brushed it aside and continued the conversation. I knew how I would respond in the worst-case scenario. But I didn’t want to use that option yet.
“Hah! Easy, Geo. I’m just joking. The daemons don’t care if they are killed. To them, it feels like nothing more than a mosquito bite. However, the great wizard bit too hard to be a mere bug.” The monochrome being raised his fingerless hands in the air and gestured to the King of Daemons.
“Raaahhh… Raaagh…!”
The eerie sound echoed in my bones. At first, I thought it might be the sound of the wind, but when I listened closer, I clearly understood that it was a voice of hatred.
“It’s truly angry…but I don’t see any chance of raising a Daemon Calix to open an Epicenter anytime soon. It’s quite a problem.”
I wondered if he was finally speaking some truth. If he was, it meant that there wouldn’t be any large-scale daemon broods for a while…
“Now, I’ve answered most of your questions, right? Might I ask something now? I’ve been waiting a very long time for this.” The monstrous daemonist took a step closer. What did he want to ask me?
“That’s fine. I’ll answer if I can.”
“Just one question, your lordship.” The monochrome being bowed pretentiously once again. “How about you join us, so we can wipe out all the humans together?”