episode_0046

The ones who possessed them were a group of four from the east, west, south, and north.

…Or so I thought.

Just in case, I decided to ask.

“Do you know when those guys got possessed?”

[Looking at the possession records…]

Serena told me the dates the four had been possessed.

They almost perfectly matched the dates the original four had disappeared.

“Do you know where they are now?”

[Wait a moment…]

Serena tracked the possessed.

Since all four worshipped her, finding them wasn’t difficult.

[All four are in the Demon Realm?…]

[Why the hell?…]

“For those who want to get stronger, there’s no better place.”

The Demon Realm.

A land so overrun with monsters that humans can’t live there.

Considering that the Human Realm makes up only 10% of the world while the Demon Realm is 90%, it’s an absurdly vast territory.

Which also means it’s packed with hidden items and secret dungeons.

The perfect place for veteran Prophecy RPG players to power up.

…That’s one reason, but more importantly, it doesn’t interfere with the main story.

“In the Human Realm, even the slightest action can twist the future.”

“But in the Demon Realm, no matter what chaos they cause, the future won’t be affected.”

To put it simply,

it’s like possessing an extra character in Korea and immediately boarding a flight to Europe.

Instead of grabbing hidden items in Korea,

they’re planning to grow stronger by collecting hidden items in Europe.

So what happens?

What kind of outcome awaits?

‘Nothing.’

Because they didn’t act in Korea.

They’d never cross paths with the protagonist there.

Since they didn’t take Korea’s hidden items,

they wouldn’t hinder the protagonist’s growth either.

That’s what matters.

Leave the final boss—the one who’ll destroy Korea—to the protagonist,

while they enjoy everything Europe has to offer.

Once the final boss is dead, they can return to Korea at their leisure and enjoy the rest.

That’s the gist of their mindset.

…I explained it in a way even Serena could understand.

[Then…]

[You left me to die because…]

“Because I didn’t want to change the future.”

Lia awakens after her mother’s death,

endures all hardships to defeat the Demon King and bring her back.

But what if her mother never died?

She might never awaken.

She might never go after the Demon King.

The future would be completely derailed,

and without Lia defeating the Demon King, there’d be no peaceful future.

That’s a problem.

If humanity perishes,

the possessed can’t enjoy their comfortable lives either.

So I left it alone.

…Hearing that, Serena got angry.

[All four of them prayed to me! Worshipped me! Offered sacrifices and even received my blessings!]

[And they knew I’d die but didn’t save me?!]

“So all four got your blessings, huh?”

[They did!]

[All four called me ‘Lady Serena’ and took them!]

Well…

That’s normal.

I refused Serena’s blessings because I wanted to secretly date a succubus,

but for most, accepting them is the smarter move.

A single prayer grants powerful buffs,

and offering useless items as sacrifices can strengthen those buffs further.

[Unacceptable.]

[I’m revoking their blessings out of sheer spite.]

Serena was about to strip all four of their blessings when—

“You shouldn’t.”

[Why?]

“Because blessings let you monitor them.”

Blessings are high-grade surveillance cameras.

Stealth magic?

Concealment artifacts?

Useless.

The blessed can’t escape a god’s gaze.

So,

the more dangerous someone is, the smarter it is to keep them blessed and under watch.

‘They’re not villains, but…’

Better safe than sorry.

Some seem harmless when weak,

only to turn evil once they gain power.

…After that explanation, Serena conceded.

[Fine.]

[I won’t revoke their blessings.]

But.

She wasn’t any less pissed.

[Instead!]

[After the Demon King’s defeated, I’ll make sure they pay.]

“That’s…”

[Why?]

“They’re still my friends.”

“Go easy on them, okay?”

[You’re close?]

“That’s…”

Not extremely close.

We’re comrades who share information,

and we bonded quickly over our love for the same game, but…

Our tastes were so wildly different that we all considered each other degenerates.

We’re friendly, sure,

but not to the point of wanting to get any closer.

Still.

They’re the only four friends I have from back home.

I’d prefer to stay on good terms if possible.

…Hearing that, Serena relented.

[If that’s your relationship, I’ll go easy on their punishment.]

“Thanks.”

[But.]

[Tell me what kind of people they are.]

“Just the basics?”

[Yeah.]

“Well…”

I thought for a moment.

If I told her they were the kind of people who made Serena sob over the east, west, south, and north…

‘She’d 100% smite them.’

So.

I kept that part a secret.

‘The rest…’

‘This much should be fine, right?’

[Nickname: Justice Muscle Gay]

The guy who turned Prophecy RPG’s male protagonist, ‘Lian,’ into a muscle-bound gay man and saw the ending where he wrecked the Demon King’s backdoor.

Serena sobbed upon learning her son had become a muscle gay.

His hobby is working out,

and after possession, he’s probably out there targeting villains’ backdoors as a muscle gay himself.

But.

He’s relatively safe.

He never touches women,

and only goes after male villains—a complete freak.

[Nickname: Dark Flame Master]

The guy who corrupted Prophecy RPG’s female protagonist, ‘Lia,’ into a chuunibyou edgelord ‘Dark Flame Dragon Master,’ then saw the ending where she led a heretical cult.

Serena sobbed upon learning her daughter had become a cult leader.

After possession, she’s probably running a chuunibyou ‘Dark Flame Dragon High School Girl’ cult that gives off dangerous vibes.

But.

She’s mostly harmless.

Outwardly, it seems like a heretical group,

but in reality, it’s more of a dark hero organization that only hunts bad guys.

[Nickname: TS Femme Fatale Lover]

The guy who gender-swapped Prophecy RPG’s male protagonist, ‘Lian,’ into a woman, then saw the ending where she got passed around by goblins, orcs, tentacles, demons, and bandits as a broken slut.

Serena sobbed harder at this than any other ending.

After possession…

Well…

He’s probably in the Demon Realm in a pretty female body, getting passed around by monsters like a dog.

That psycho would absolutely do it.

But.

He’s not that dangerous.

He’s just a freak who enjoys being gender-swapped.

He doesn’t go around swapping others.

[Nickname: Mother-Daughter Feast Gold Sun]

The guy who burned all of Prophecy RPG’s male protagonist, ‘Lian’s,’ skin to turn him into a blond-tanned delinquent, then saw the ending where he formed a party with his mother and daughter to take down the Demon King.

Serena sobbed upon learning her son had become a blond-tanned delinquent.

After possession, he’s probably training like hell in the Demon Realm.

A weakling can’t pull off NTR,

so he’ll get strong enough to do it.

Overwhelming power to steal and protect mothers and daughters from trash men.

Overwhelming wealth to provide for them for life.

If he can’t achieve that much,

he believes he has no right to enjoy a mother-daughter feast—a complete madman.

First, he’ll build his strength,

then start acting once he’s strong enough.

‘Well…’

‘The others are the same.’

To target villains’ backsides,

you need the power to subdue them.

To lead a chuunibyou ‘Dark Flame Dragon High School Girl’ justice squad in the shadows,

you need the strength to maintain it.

To survive being passed around by monsters,

you need the power to live through anything.

All four need power to fulfill their dreams.

So they’re gathering strength in the Demon Realm,

planning to achieve their goals later.

That’s the gist of it.

…Or so I told her.

Ah,

I conveniently left out the parts where Serena sobbed over their endings.

Mentioning those would’ve been catastrophic.

[Hmm…]

[They’re weird, but… not dangerous?…]

“At the very least, they’re not threats to humanity.”

The muscle gay is a freak who only targets villains,

the chuunibyou girl is a dark hero who hunts bad guys,

the TS freak just does his own degenerate thing,

and Gold Sun is more of a ‘redemption’ type who covets other men’s women.

The mothers and daughters Gold Sun targets all have husbands so terrible that calling it ‘bad NTR’ feels off.

…Or so I’ve been brainwashed to believe.

At first, I called him a psycho NTR bastard who steals women,

but at some point, I found myself convinced by his logic.

Still.

Not a big deal.

‘As long as he doesn’t touch my women, we won’t fight.’

The chance of Gold Sun stealing my women is 0%.

All the female characters in Prophecy RPG lack mothers.

‘The closest would be…’

‘If Serena revives, Lia would have a mother, but…’

Not his type.

Gold Sun gets off on saving suffering mothers and daughters from terrible men.

Meanwhile,

Serena has no husband.

Stealing a woman without a husband wouldn’t be satisfying.

He wouldn’t bother.

‘Gold Sun himself would say that.’

So.

Our party is a safe zone.

Nothing to worry about.

…I was smiling at the thought when—

A sudden question came.

“Nicknames, huh…”

“Cain, do you have one too?”

“……”

“Cain?”

“……I plead the fifth.”

I can reveal everyone else’s nicknames,

but mine?

Absolutely not!

So!

I plead the fifth!