He slides one arm beneath my back and the other under my knees to lift me. My head lolls a little with my eyes half-closed. I’m barely managing to keep myself conscious.
I see his coat has a high collar similar to the shirt underneath. He has tousled dark hair with a few strands falling over his forehead. His eyes of the same dark observe everything with keen attention.
|D| You are among the first 10 candidates to summon a rank 2 familiar.
|+300 LS| |+30 CP|
|+1 Talisman of Trickery |D||
|-| Your first familiar is a rank 2 succubus
|+1 Lash of Passion |D||
Passion my ass. Minotaur hit me like a truck while the use of Customize hit me like a minotaur. If you do the math, I’ve been fucked twice, as if once didn’t suffice.
What is the point of Customize if I cannot use it properly? No, who’s the useless bastard kneeling before me is the real question I should ask.
Charm? Stamina of D-? Seriously? And a succubus out of all the races? It says their racial trait is to switch sexes. Absolutely useless.
I glance at my interface.
—Summon—
Succubi
What now? Do I open massage parlors throughout the world? That’s some lofty aspiration, don’t you think?
—Succubi—
|Mare |F|| - 2 CP
|Succub |E|| - 10 CP
|Lilin |D|| - 70 CP
I probably cannot summon a second familiar until I reach rank 2. Thus, I’m stuck with succubi.
—Servants—
Familiar (1/1)
Subordinates (0/25)
Customize allowed me to specify three characteristics. The first one I chose was ‘brave’, the second was ‘cunning’, and the last one was ‘informative.’ Did I mess up again? Where is my Eldritch lich?
I should’ve given it more thought. It’s just that Monika is asleep, and she’s the better one at thinking—at everything. But I had no time to wait for her. She’s definitely going to get mad. Oh, here you are!
Monika narrowed her eyes as the confusion faded away instantaneously.
The young man kneeled further to make it easier for her to climb on. Monika looped around his shoulders, trembling but firm.
He secured her legs with his strong arms and carried her with ease. Monika’s head rested against his shoulder as the man felt her warm breath tickle against his neck.
“So Hel, how did you die before being summoned here?” she asked.
“How’d you know?” he backfired with his own question.
Monika confirmed that the familiar indeed had memories of his past life. Grief, coupled with the immediate shift to the resolute expression she had seen on his face and the rash decision of immediately controlling her mind—
“I was killed less than two hours ago—and the very moment I regained my reason—BAM! Here I am! I was at first glad to get a second chance, but I’ve already lost everything dear to me…” she whispered in his ears.
Tears traced down Monika’s cheeks as they wetted his shoulders. Hel’s steps jolted on the slippery ground. His boots squelched the mire. Monika further clung to him to seek reassurance. Her fingers gripped.
“I… I can pave a new path, b—but nothing will revert the time back..!” she whined.
“It’s the same for me,” he said. “The regrets won’t lessen, but we can suppress them by pushing ahead, my lady.”
Monika’s eyes didn’t lose their focus despite crying. She measured each step Hel took and how her words and the gradual shifts in tone affected him.
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“Why did you try to use your ability on me!? The interface says the familiar can’t harm its owner!” Monika’s cries intensified.
Monika saw Hel’s muscles twitch a little at the word 'owner.'
“Ugh… never mind. Forget what I said! I’m sorry. Sorry. Truly. I would’ve done the same if I were in your place,” she muttered in shame as her whispers lowered.
“I swear I’m usually not like this! It’s just my first time killing a living being with my own hands. I’ve just lost my temper.”
“It’s okay, milady. You can close your eyes and relax. I’m going to get us out of this dungeon first, and then we can talk,” he said reassuringly.
“No-no-no. We need to understand what is happening first,” Monika said in a deliberating tone.
“Once I awakened…”
Monika succinctly told him the full story while omitting and melding it into her own coloration. She retold Hel how she had awakened in a desolate cave, the process of absorbing the core, the rewards she got after defeating a ‘half-dead’ minotaur by a ‘stroke of luck’, her regenerative abilities, and how she summoned him.
A few minutes passed.
Hel could feel her heart beating against his back. Her breaths gradually became more even as she found some semblance of peace.
“...But the skill I got at the start, Customization, is really, really good. It helped me in your summoning. That's pretty much all the story,” she stated.
“This gives me the vibes of a video game,” Hel claimed with astonishment.
“Huh? Do you have video games in this world, too?” Monika asked.
“Not really. The science of this world is way more comprehensive. As such, there is barely any technological advancement. My father was from a faraway planet named Earth. He was a gamer therein—people who play those games competitively for mon—”
“From Earth? I didn’t tell you, but I'm also from Earth! Are there many such people in here?” Monika interrupted him.
“I wouldn't say many, but a considerable amount,” he responded. “Still, don’t tell this to others. The earthlings are actively hunted here.”
“Huh? Why—”
Hel stopped. Their chatter came to a sudden halt. Before him stood a looming large door. The towering statues flanked the doorway with their twisted and horned visage as they gazed down with a malevolent watchfulness.
He concentrated on his eyes as they reddened. “Hmm, those aren’t real.”
“What do you mean?” Monika asked curiously.
Hel pointed his fingers toward the statues. “Do you see those statues of gargoyles? Sometimes, they are living beings hiding in plain sight.”
“How can a stone live!?”
“Well, anything can come to life with the help of runes. Keepers come in different shapes and sizes – the stronger the rune, the stronger the keeper. The reason why you’ve gotten such a strong summon as me, for example, is because the minotaur had a rank two rune of sin embedded into his heart. So you’ve basically used two runes while summoning me.”
What a fucking waste!
“Well, we should get out of the boss room. Some monsters may be lying ahead of the door, so prepare yourself. Of course, they shouldn’t pose much danger to us, but this world is harsher than the Earth you know of. Always keep your mind sharp,” he noted.
“Of course!” Monika exclaimed vigorously. She was scrambling the puzzle pieces bit by bit.
“Hmm?” she pondered.
“What is it?”
“The door looks frightening,” she murmured.
“Indeed…”Hel, too, concentrated on it.
The door before them was a towering monolith of ancient stone that reached several stories high. Carved into the door's surface were scenes of torment and chaos—demonic figures in an eternal struggle. Their twisted forms contorted in expressions of rage, pain, frenzy – malevolence.
“What’s that?” Monika asked, pointing toward the center.
There, the serpentine dragon was winding horrifyingly. Its head was positioned with its mouth agape and brimfully filled with glowering teeth. Its eyes were as piercing as though following one no matter where they stood. The powerful neck had ridges that ran down its back and merged into its coiled tail.
“His name is Solomon,” Hel said warily. “One of the nine heads of the Demonic Emperor.”
“Demonic Emperor?”
“Well, you are from Earth, so you must have heard of the Hydra.”
This guy loves saying ‘Well.’
“Yeah,” Monika nodded with her nose brushing against his shoulder. “Bred by Echidna to thwart Hercules.”
Hel shook his head. “What I meant by was its appearance.”
“Oh,” Monika hushed. “It looks like a nine-headed water dragon. So what about it?”
“Well, that’s how the Demonic Emperor looks.” Hel continued to move forward.
“He’s also renowned as the Demon Lord of Desolation Deviod who holds authority over Sin.”
“Demon Lords?” Monika’s eyes glistened intensely as they pierced through Hel’s head.
“Yeah, they are the gods of this world,” Hel remarked nonchalantly. “Anyway, we’ve arrived. Are you fully healed?”
“More or less. We need to complete quests before others.” Monika dropped to the ground to brush her battered arm. “Hand me the greatsword, partner. Don’t worry, I won’t panic anymore.” She pointed at herself while beaming with a brave smile. “I’ve slain a minotaur, after all.”
Hel sighed. “Sure-sure, my lady.” He handed her the minotaur’s sword as he approached the door, clasping his hands against its surface and filling it with spiritual energy.
“You will have to guide me, Hel.” She patted his shoulder. “Oh, and one more important thing.”
“Well, what is it?” Hel glanced at her.
Monika beamed with an innocent smile.
“Just call me Monika.”