de_bel_survivor | IC: Appointment Post

...We stopped the demon outbreak at its source. There won't be any large outbreaks like that any time soon. [Not without notifying him. The server's under his control, even if he can't access it right now.]

...Was it really that simple? Then what are you instead of the Messiah? Are you anyone else important now, or are you just "that kid that saved Tokyo?" [He grins slyly.] Don't be afraid to tell me your story. I'll keep any secrets you want me to keep. And besides, when you're done, I'll tell you my story. Does that sound like a deal?

[What is he, but a boy who gave up everything? Instead of a distant Messiah, he's a demon king who just rediscover what it means to have a "normal" life.

There's a bit of a smile.]

I declined the angels' offer to be the Messiah. So I'm...well, just a guy who happens to be the demons' king.

[That's all he's willing to say. Kouki doesn't feel close enough to Hiro to admit everything else.]

So you're a... demon king now? What does that entail...? I'm sorry if I'm being too nosy. I'll tell you my story soon after this, I promise.

That means demons won't attack the human world without me noticing. If they do, I will know.

So that makes you more of a guardian for the human world, doesn't it? Wow. You've definitely got an important job on your hands.

[That's a way of seeing it. He protects the human world by showing disinterest, after getting the angels' words to leave them alone.] Yep, pretty much.

[Even as he say that, it feels like lying.]

Ah, that sounds so cool! ...I know it probably sounds weird to call something so important cool, but I like the sound of what you do. As for me... I don't have any important duties or titles, but I do have an important decision hanging over my head. Would you like to hear my story now, too?

Sure thing. Something about deciding the fate of the world, right?

Yeah, but that's at the end. Let's start at the beginning. Anyway, it all started one day after exams, when Daichi told me about this website named Nicaea that was uploading "death clips" of people. He wanted me to sign up, so I did anyway despite finding it kind of creepy. On our way home, we met a girl named Io, and all three of our phones went off. It was our first death clip, and it depicted each of us being killed in this horrible train derailing at the station we were at. Sure enough, the train came zooming in front of us, crashing into the end of the station. A chunk of the train nearly fell on us, but then a demon appeared and overturned that part of the train... so that he could kill us himself, of course.

[He listen carefully to Hiro's story. It's a lot to take in at once.

Everything starts off normal, until Nicaea comes in. Even without this Laplace Mail-like website, the rest of it got his attention.

If it weren't for Nicaea, Hiro and his friends would've die.]

Maaaan, that's rather exciting. Ignoring the whole "demon wanting to kill you" part.

Ahaha... well, it may sound exciting, but it was terrifying at the time! [Though still not quite as terrifying as what came later.] We managed to survive that, obviously. Let's see... what next... later that day, we had our first run-in with a Septentrione, which was... well, I'll just call it an alien. This one was called Dubhe. We tried to escape it, but Daichi did a heroic stunt with a truck that damaged it enough for us to finish it off. Once we did that, we were drafted into JP's, a secret government agency that protected Japan from supernatural dangers.

That's...new. But then again, with how long demons have been around, of course there's a secret government organisation. We just got the SDF for our troubles.

[He have to admit, they're doing pretty well containing the demons for the entire week.]

So you joined JP's and then...went around, fighting?

That's right, kind of. Each day, a new Septentrione would show up, and we'd have to beat it or risk annihilation. There was Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, and Mizar. I can tell you more about each one if you'd like, but I'm going to keep the story moving for now.

At one point, we discovered the existence of a void that was consuming the world. When we confronted the leader of JP's with this discovery, he revealed that he knew about the void all along, and to "fix" it, he was going to go to a being called Polaris and negotiate with it to create a new world- a meritocracy. Naturally, this caused quite a stir among my friends. Some wanted the meritocracy, some sided with another person who sponsored a society where everyone would be equal, while others decided they didn't want to deal with either side.

...And that's why you asked "me" about your choices during the experiment.

[Even if this Polaris can create a new world, how would humans follow the new world order?]

Before I can ask anything else, do you know what caused the void's appearance?

That's right. Before I came here, I was left with the decision of with faction I should side with. Can I ask you again which side you'd choose, now that it's you I'm talking to and not your brainwashed self?

Ah, right. Polaris caused the void. That was how he deleted the world. He was dissatisfied with my world and the people in it, so the void was his way of erasing everything so he could start over.

Because of that, the leader of JP's sought to use Polaris's power. If he can delete the world, he can possibly rewind it.

[Kouki's deliberately leaving Hiro's question alone, for now. The Messiah "him" isn't a brainwashed Kouki, as far as he understood. That Kouki is still himself, just walked on a different path and experienced different things.]

That's right. He wanted to pledge allegiance to Polaris and have him rewrite the world according to his wishes. The leaders of the other factions planned something like that as well. They'd all approach Polaris with a unified will and ask for him to rewrite or reset the world as they wanted it.

And what do you think of it? Do you want to reset the world, or install a meritocracy?

[He ask for Hiro's thoughts again, not giving his yet. Kouki don't want to influence his friend's decision too much.]

I... don't know yet. I'm torn. On the one hand, I really miss the way things were, and I think my friends would be happy to go back to their old lives, too. But on the other hand, the reset is a huge gamble because we might lose our memories and everything would just happen all over again. If I chose the meritocracy... our lives would change, sure, but it'd probably be for the better, and there'd be no risk of us losing our memories. History would go on.

Either way, you're taking a big risk.

Your memories and the possibility of history repeating itself, or a changed world where people live under a meritocracy with all the associated risks.

[He pause, thinking back on their conversation.] And who's to say that Polaris won't get dissatisfied in the future?

Yeah. I wish I didn't have to take such a big gamble either way, but I guess that's just how it is. One minute I lean towards going back, the next towards going forward... it's a hard decision, but I'm glad Luceti has given me the time to make it.

[Hiro pauses in turn, frowning.] Who knows... I can only hope that, when or if that time comes, there'll be a new crowd of people who are willing and able to fight for their world. [Another pause.] When you put it that way, it sounds like we're only delaying the inevitable- another world erasure. But we can only do what we can, right? All we can do is handle this ordeal from Polaris first before worrying about the future. Otherwise, there may not be a future for us to worry about.

Luceti's a blessing in disguise. I used to be stuck in an important decision, but being here means I can think about my choices.

[The time limit and the heavy expectation from everyone weighed down on his mind.]

And hopefully, if you do go forward, the next group of people can handle the challenge.

[He's quiet for a moment.]

...You asked which one I would choose, right?

Ah... you had a decision to make, too? What did you have to decide between? [He waits for Kouki to begin speaking again.]

Yeah. Which one would you choose? I'm just curious to hear what you would do.

My decision was to either send the demons back, control them, become the Messiah or the King of Bel and fight God. I'm now the King of Bel...

[There's a bit of smile on face. Did his eyes flash red for the briefest of seconds? Or merely Hiro's imagination?]

Therefore...I would choose to challenge Polaris himself and take him down.

[Is this Kouki speaking, or the demon king in him?]

IC: Appointment Post

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