章節 6: Decisions
Demon castle (Nasth):
“Unnecessary,” she said, smiling. “You are our guest, there are no reasons to bow, my child.” Her voice was soothing; her appearance, elegant. The dress she wore was dark, yet the edges were flowing like fire, but just darker.
The undead queen, was on the throne, just looking down at the girl. Her red eyes were beyond captivating, drawing in all the attention.
“But- where am I, who are you?” The girl, Maria asked. She was being careful about this.
There was a chance all this was just an illusion caused by some drugs. It was possible she was still in the tent, dying. But did such potent drugs even exist?
But it was also possible, all this was real. And in that case, the people around her, were monsters.
And she was in hell.
In that case-
“I am the Undead Queen. I have no other name. You are in the demon castle of the Nasth.”
Maria’s breaths quickened. ‘Undead?’ As in not among the living?
She’d already made sure she was breathing, and she knew the feeling, the sensations were proof she was awake. “Demon castle? Then this is hell?”
But even for hell, this place was oddly comfortable. Perhaps she was going to be judged now and then punished?
She’d done a lot of things in life.
A lot of things she could never take back.
But- but she didn’t fear, she didn’t quiver. She just stared ahead.
“Hell?” The queen pondered. “From a human perspective, yes this is hell. Though from our perspective, the realm of men: Entrokia, is also hell.”
“Entrokia?”
“Yes, this world is divided into three parts. Nasth, Entrokia and Labalia.”
“Wait, wait, wait, this world? Three parts? This isn’t earth?” Maria had already suspected as much. Light coming out of nowhere, darkness here and there, invisible creatures, a horned maid, it was obvious she was somewhere magical.
And another world seemed to be best logical explanation.
But just because it was the best explanation didn’t mean, it wasn’t surprising.
“No dear. You’re in Gloria, the land of glory.”
“Gloria?” Maria mumbled. She had memories of that name. Bad memories.
The name belonged to her mother: her stepmother. And she didn’t quite have the best relationship with her.
Just remembering those days in the basement….
“I’m sure you’re confused and-”
“Basically, I’m in another world? But, why am I here? In the demon castle?” She was shocked, yes. But she was also a soldier and she had to accept this sooner or later: the things she saw, the things she felt, were real.
This was not an illusion.
She was in another world.
“Oh?” The queen smiled. “You are here as our savior. As our champion. You see the other races of this world want the demons to be destroyed. And so, they banded together and now even as we speak, countless demons are dying, trying to protect this place.”
The queen swayed her hands in the air and a screen of sort appeared before Maria’s eyes, showing her the dreadfulness of the battlefield.
Blood-
Torn limbs-
Screams.
Death.
“Humans banding together? It’s hard for me to assume that they’d attack you without any proper reason.” Maria wasn’t stupid. Perhaps she wasn’t the brightest, but even she could understand that anyone could have made up a sweet lie.
Though she wasn’t mistaken on the humans banding together part, there were far too many things she didn’t see in that screen. Or rather, she wasn’t shown.
“Yes, as a human I imagine it would be hard for you to accept such a thing outright. But humans have always been greedy. Some for power, others for wealth fame or maybe women. As a human yourself, you understand, yes?”
She couldn’t deny. She was a victim of greed herself. When her mother died, her father remarried. When her father died, her brother sold her off of to the military and even there she faced greed: greed for her body: the greed of lustful men.
She knew it, she understood it all too well.
“Yes.”
“This land is infertile and isn’t suited for cultivation. But it’s rich in a certain magical ore. An ore that’s highly prized in the world. And for that, many nations have tried to wage war. Though the demons carefully avoided all conflict, a small conspiracy in a certain place led to the current war. I suppose calling it small at this stage wouldn’t do justice.”
“But just for the ore?”
“There are plenty of motives here at play. Some want the ore, some the glory of winning, others are perhaps here on just battle lust. There are all kinds of people involved. There are all kinds of goals, dreams. And religion is also a part of all this.”
“But me a savior? Why me? I’m a human!”
“Because you know. You know the sorrow of the world and you know the greed of men. Hence, you are perfect. As a bridge between the two species. Besides as a soldier, you should be the best fit on a battlefield.” The queen smiled. ‘And a human would be perfect for-’
“How do you know that? I don’t remember ever mentioning I was a soldier.”
Maria could hear faint whispers, faint groans all around her. All this time, she’d ignored it but- but now it was getting uncomfortable. The darkness she thought was impenetrable was now being registered in her brain as moving, flowing darkness. Almost like it was- alive?
The pungent odor was only getting stronger and she was feeling dizzy.
The queen smiled. “We are connected. When you first came into this world, I saw glimpses of your memories. I saw the hard times you passed through and I saw your conviction. Hence, I deem you perfect. We need you.”
“But I’m just a soldier. And I don’t have my weapons here. Besides, if this world is a world of magic and demons-” maria looked at the demon next to her and remembered that light she produced just some moments ago. “Then what good would an ordinary human like me-”
And yet, her tone was different. The word ‘need’ had significant value to her.
“But you’re not ordinary. Surely, you’ve noticed the difference? You are far-far stronger than you ever were, even to the standards of this world. You are a summoned being, a being capable of miracles…”
“Really?” She again looked at her arms. She looked thinner. But not weaker. “How?”
“Because of the summoning: it recreated your body and gave you new powers. Now, there isn’t much time. I hate to make haste but, we don’t have time. The demon soldiers are at the brink of defeat and soon the united army would pass through the border, rendering all hopes of a counterattack invalid.” The queen stood up and warped right next to Maria.
Maria was five foot seven, average in the military, or maybe slightly shorter than the average. But the queen was a good six inches taller, towering over her.
“But- this is hard to believe.” It wasn’t just hard to believe, perhaps impossible even- to her.
And yet, somehow Maria knew, ‘this is real…’
“I know. And it pains me to ask you to fight for us, when we were clearly wrong to summon you without your permission.”
Maria didn’t actually worry about that. After all, she survived because of that. If anything, she was glad to be summoned. She didn’t have to worry about the war back at home or the military. And she didn’t have any relatives back home either- not anymore. Though perhaps she wanted to see her little niece one last time.
But she was glad.
So- she took a breath. “What do I do and how do I do it?” She first wanted to see what was true with her own eyes before doing anything. But for now, she figured this was the best way to find things out.
“I’ll explain everything. But for now- close your eyes.”
Maria didn’t trust any of these people. She didn’t.
Perhaps this was all a ploy, perhaps it was just a farce. For now though, she had to move forward.
‘I have to know more.’
For the time being, she decided to just go with the flow.
After all, if they meant harm, wouldn’t she already be dead?
She owed her life to this woman- her summoner. And so, she had to repay the favor somehow.
She closed her eyes.
The sound disappeared.
The pungent odor in the air was no more.
Wind pressed against her face, ever so gently. And the silence was replaced by screams and battle cries. The clash of swords, explosions- and so much more.
“You may look.”
Her heart skipped a few beats as she looked down.
Clouds.
Birds- no, bones.
And death.
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