—Central Northground, Al's Army Containment Facility, General Laboratory
A dozen cocoons rested upon the pedestals inside the massive laboratory. Keeping their distance, Aldebaran's subordinate executives looked on with bated breath.
Neimu, one of Demon King Ashmedia's executives, stared blankly at the ritual about to unfold.
(Soon, our god will descend upon this land...)
What was about to begin was the evil god descent ritual she and the others had long awaited. For its sake, they had sacrificed fellow demons under Aldebaran's command and offered up the local monsters as tribute. If the ritual succeeded, humanity would perish, and the world would belong to the demon race. At the very least, it would spare their kind from extinction. It was supposed to be a momentous, wonderful occasion, yet Neimu could not muster even a shred of joy. If anything...
"Now then, looks like they're about to hatch, aren't they?"
A buoyant voice chirped from the squirrel perched on Neimu's shoulder. An instant later, every single crimson cocoon on the pedestals crumbled to pieces.
"Kwahaha! We've finally achieved a True Demon King, haven't we?!"
The three-mel-tall, reptile-faced monster that emerged from the central cocoon rippled and bulged across its entire body, swiftly reshaping itself into the form of Aldebaran—a burly, red-haired man. A breath later, the monsters emerging from the remaining cocoons shifted as well, taking the forms of Aldebaran's executives.
Cheers and applause erupted from Aldebaran's watching subordinates.
(Th-They're on an entirely different level!)
Aldebaran had been remarkably strengthened before now, but that had remained within the realm of what Neimu could comprehend. The same went for Cetus after becoming a Dragon King. She had calculated that her master could have fought on even terms with the empowered Aldebaran and his cohort, even if victory was uncertain. But the current Aldebaran was completely different. That entity had clearly transcended the race known as demons.
"With this, the path to godhood has opened for me as well! Isn't that right, my Lord?!"
To Aldebaran, who called out in an ecstatic voice to the squirrel on Neimu's shoulder,
"Of course, of course. With this, the ritual is finally possible. We're going straight into it—that's fine with you, right?"
The squirrel responded with unprecedented excitement in his voice.
"Naturally. Whatever our revered god wills."
As Aldebaran knelt, the subordinates who had hatched alongside him followed suit in unison.
"Good, good. Then let's begin the God-Summoning of Soul Restoration."
The squirrel hopped down from Neimu's shoulder to the floor. When he raised his right hand, a massive magic circle flared into existence.
"Eek?!"
A single glance at that sinister, blackish-red magic circle sent an intense chill running down her spine, raising goosebumps all over her skin. Overcome by terror, she scrambled backward several steps. Aldebaran's subordinates did the same, scrambling to put distance between themselves and the magic circle.
The magic circle rose into the air, warping into a sphere that swallowed Aldebaran and his cohort whole.
The squirrel began to dance in a singsong rhythm, chanting a bizarre incantation.
—The strongest power in this world is evil♬
—The most precious thing in this world is evil♬
—The purest thing in this world is evil♬
—It is our mother, and our father. The reason for our birth, and our absolute standard of worth!
—Let us paint the entire world in despair!
—Let us utterly destroy everything in this world!
—Let the flowers of evil bloom across all the world!
—For that is our paradise, forged by evil!
—For that is the mission and purpose of our Evil Army!
A torrent of blackish-red sludge poured from the magic circle, enveloping the kneeling Aldebaran. Countless crimson thorns burst from his sludge-drenched form, piercing into the newly emerged executives and dragging them into the mire as well.
(Is that... our god's crest?)
She had seen it before in ancient ruins. The shape Aldebaran and the others were forming together was undeniably the crest of the god they worshipped. There was no longer any doubt that this was the ritual to summon the chief god.
And yet—
(Is it really safe to believe in this?)
Even though their god was descending at last, all Neimu felt was absolute terror and a paralyzing chill.
Until now, she had believed this entity was the demon race's patron deity. But what if she was wrong?
In the first place, demons and humans were both part of the human race. What if—just what if—to a god, there was no meaningful difference between them, and they were all merely toys?
(No, that's impossible!)
She shook her head furiously, trying to dispel the dark premonition welling up inside her. But the situation swiftly plunged into the worst possible outcome.
The red sludge divided and reshaped into two distinct figures.
One was a three-faced, red-skinned ogre clad in crimson armor.
The other was a boy with crimson geometric patterns carved across his flesh.
Meanwhile, the squirrel that had been chanting transformed into a gaudily dressed man wearing bizarre clown makeup.
"Huh, all three of us manifested right off the bat, did we? That's seriously surprising."
At the boy with the geometric patterns speaking in an amused tone,
"Damn straight. Not bad at all, eh, you shit clown!"
The three-faced ogre crossed his arms, barking at the clown.
"...It's strange after all."
The clown who had been a squirrel rested a hand on his chin, muttering to himself.
"Strange? What is?"
The patterned boy frowned and asked.
"True, I estimated that all of us would eventually be able to manifest. But that was supposed to take several centuries at the very least. There's no way three pillars could manifest this quickly, and on the very first try..."
"Yet here we are, ain't we?"
To the three-faced ogre's question,
"That's right. Which means something impossible is happening. That's what I'm saying."
The clown replied with a grave expression.
"Are you saying someone in this world forced all three of us to manifest at once?"
The boy covered in crimson patterns sneered at the clown.
"...No, my mistake. I was overthinking it. No one below our class could possibly pull that off. It's obviously far beyond the gnats crawling around this world."
The clown shrugged, palms turned upward, and let out a sigh.
"More importantly, what's the plan now?"
"Naturally, we'll make this place our base and summon Evil Army Officers. After all, the three of us managed to manifest together. We hold an overwhelming advantage in this game. There are half-bloods of humans and our evil in this land. Sacrificing them will let us replenish our forces with peak efficiency."
The clown turned his gaze toward Neimu and the others for the first time.
"Hii..."
A shudder so violent it nearly buckled her knees ripped through her body, setting her legs trembling uncontrollably.
She could sense no aura of mighty power from these three monsters. In fact, unlike the goosebump-inducing dread radiating from Aldebaran as a True Demon King, she felt nothing from them at all. Yet, like a frog pinned beneath the glare of a serpent, Neimu's knees gave out, and cold sweat poured from her skin as if her body had forgotten how to stop.
"Are you... the Chief God?"
When one of Aldebaran's subordinates asked timidly,
"That's right. We are the chief god who commands countless gods. The very beings you worshipped."
The clown answered with an amused chuckle.
"Where is Lord Aldebaran?"
"Ah, him?"
The clown snapped his fingers, and Aldebaran abruptly materialized on the floor, sitting with his arms wrapped around his knees.
"L-Lord Aldebaran!"
As one of Aldebaran's subordinates cried out in relief, the clown flashed a profoundly sinister smile.
"Yes, yes, I'm in a wonderful mood right now. Consider this a special reward from me to all of you."
He snapped his fingers a second time. Aldebaran rose slowly to his feet. An instant later, the brute was standing directly behind the subordinate who had just cheered, gripping the demon's shoulders from behind.
"Huh?"
Before the confused grunt fully left his throat, the subordinate was bitten into by Aldebaran, whose face had twisted back into that of a monstrous reptile.
"Eeeek!"
Aldebaran's remaining demon subordinates, who had been watching in stunned silence, shrieked and scrambled backward.
"Now, now, no screaming. If you're claimed as sacrifices for the ritual, you suffer eternal agony, you know? Allowing you to die cleanly as feed for that toy is the absolute least of my mercy for your hard work. You should be rejoicing."
Ignoring the horrifying absurdity of his words, the clown snapped his fingers once more. Aldebaran lunged at his former followers, tearing them apart and gorging himself. In mere moments, every last one of Aldebaran's subordinates in the room had vanished into his belly.
"Now then."
Neimu understood down to the core of her soul. These entities were not the saviors they had envisioned. The gaze those three pillars turned upon them lacked even the basic dignity one might afford a gnat.
"You were a exceptionally well-made pawn. So, as a special favor, I'll let you alone walk away."
The clown curled the corners of his mouth into a smirk, declaring what was, in that moment, the greatest reprieve Neimu could have asked for.
"Ah..."
It was pure instinct. If she stayed here, she would die. Neimu knew that with agonizing clarity. Squeezing out the last dregs of her courage, she shouted,
"Everyone, ru—"
She tried to order her subordinates, but—
"Too bad. Pawns who didn't take direct action don't need a reward, do they? So I had your subordinates step in as sacrifices instead."
"What?"
She let out a dazed gasp and looked around.
"—-?!"
A silent scream caught in her throat. And for good reason. Neimu's subordinates had already dissolved into puddles of muddy sludge.
"Go on. Get lost before I change my mind."
As if breaking free from paralysis, Neimu's body kicked into motion. Turning her back on the three monsters, she bolted. At that moment, she felt neither anger nor grief over the slaughter of her subordinates—only pure, unadulterated terror. Driven by that primal dread, Neimu ran for her life as fast as her legs could carry her.