A Dungeon Somewhere In Solis Continent
Sora still couldn't get the demon video out of his head.
Demons using Earth weapons. Demons building a civilization suspiciously similar to Earth's. It all gnawed at him.
How the hell are demons copying Earth technology so perfectly? There has to be someone from Earth over there. But why didn't the goddess mention anything about it? Isn't it bad if this world turns into another Earth? He thought.
SHRIEEEEK!
Two kobolds lunged at him from both sides. Sora cut them down with a single effortless swing, spraying blood across the cave floor.
"Tch. Stop pestering me," he muttered.
"SORA, BEHIND YOU!"
A third kobold burst from the shadows—Sora hadn't even sensed it.
STAB-STAB-
Two icicles shot through the air and skewered the goblin mid-leap.
"Is this the supposed savior of the world? A sharp voice said. "Maybe try not daydreaming inside a dungeon?"
Sora turned. Isabel stood there, hands on her hips, and beside her a tiny girl in a big pointy hat clutching a staff—his new party member.
Yumi. The cliché child-prodigy mage.
A walking trope.
The kind whose mentor decides that a "field trip" killing monsters with the hero party will help her study magic more rather than sending her to an actual magic school.
"Sorry, Yumi. But I knew I could count on you." Sora smiled and patted her head.
"O-of course you can!" Yumi squeaks, cheeks glowing red. "I—I'm a genius mage after all!"
And yes, naturally, the prodigy mage was also a tsundere.
KIIEEEEEEEGH!
A kobold general and two kobold sorcerers appeared, screeching as they charged.
"Dungeon boss," Sora said. "Get ready."
The fight was quick. A few flashes of steel and magic later, the boss collapsed, and faint lights enveloped the party—the sign of leveling up.
What made the Otherworlder Hero so frightening on Talvaris wasn't his stats, but his system.
Normal Talvarians were born with fixed capacity caps—mana, strength, speed, everything. A high mana cap meant you suited to become a mage. A high-strength cap meant warrior, and so on. Their roles in society are practically predetermined.
But heroes from other worlds break all those rules.
He could increase all his caps whenever he leveled up.
Worse, this broken mechanic extended to his party.
Historical records said a mid-tier Hero party once defeated an entire army alone.
"Uh… does anyone else feel stronger than usual?" Yumi asked.
"You're right," Isabel said. "This is… different."
Sora opened his status window. His eyes widened.
"Uh, guys? You won't believe this."
"What?" Isabel leaned in.
"I got a new passive skill. Double EXP. We're growing twice as fast now."
"Oh my! A blessing from the goddess!" Isabel clasped her hands and immediately began praying.
Sora doesn't pray.
He wonders.
Double EXP… right after demons start showing Earth tech? Coincidence? Or… something else the goddess isn't telling us?
Divine Empire of Celeste, St. Divinitus Basilica
St. Divinitus Basilica is the biggest man-made structure on Celeste, and maybe in the entire world. The basilica dwarfs even the royal palace. Carved statues, gold-trimmed pillars, and a towering figure of Goddess Celes decorated every surface—a very on-brand display of how profitable the faith industry could be.
Inside, the choir sang as ethereal ambience filled the vast prayer hall.
A man in white-and-gold robes prayed before the altar.
Cardinal Corvus entered, kneeling when the man rose.
"Holy Father," Corvus says, kneeling, "you summoned me?"
"Corvus… the Oracle received a new divination last night."
"A-Again? It hasn't even been a year since the last one—when we ordered to summon the otherworlder hero."
"I know." The man says gravely. "The goddess commands us to send the Seven Virtues across the continent to contain demon influence."
Corvus stiffens.
"But Holy Father… in all church history, the Seven Virtues have never left the Solis continent."
"Corvus," the Pope says softly, "the demons are no longer invading with brute force. They are invading with intellect. The goddess sees beyond what we can."
Corvus bows deeply. "…Forgive me for doubting. I was insolent."
"Do not ask forgiveness from me," the holy father said gently. "Let's ask it together to the goddess."
He knelt again. Corvus followed. Their whispered prayers echo beneath stained glass.
Bashington DC, Joint Base Anaconda-Boiling (JBAB)
The day before, Lich had insisted that Solo and Lilith witness his newest experiment—something related to the post-battle incident where dozens of Murican soldiers transformed into raging demons and began devouring Vandorian prisoners.
It was a chaotic mess for the CDC. They had to quarantine the whole battalion.
"Solo, honey," Lilith warned as the Sea King helicopter descended, "Lich sounded excited yesterday. Be ready."
"Oh dear… That's never good."
Their Marine 13 helicopter landed. They were escorted to a field lined with makeshift scientific tents-monitors, cameras, and machines everywhere. Lich and Stan waited in the main tent.
"Ah! Solo, Lilith! You're finally here!" Lich said cheerfully. "Today is a monumental day!"
Solo folds his arms. "Why is the director of the health department asking me to meet on a military base?"
"Patience, my dear prime minister. You'll see." Lich typed rapidly on his console.
"And Stan?" Solo asks.
Stan groans. "I was watching the Cowboys game this morning when my secretary screamed about an army of skeletons invading my base."
"Lich!" Lilith snapped. "You didn't even ask for permission? We aren't living in the old days where you can barge into someone's castle to borrow magical artifacts for experiments!"
"Hush. Science cannot be hindered by such trivialities. Now, feast your eyes on the monitor."
Two screens lit up-one showing a dead raging demon, the other its tissues under a microscope.
"This is one of Stan's soldiers who transformed," Lich said. "And these are his cells. What do you see?"
"The goddess virus… Was he an anti-vaxxer too? But why transform now?" Lilith muttered at the familiar crown-shaped viruses.
"Next sample."
Lich switched to another split screen: a living raging demon restrained in a tank, and its cells under magnification. This time the virus count was enormous.
"That's… a lot," Solo said.
"YES! A LOT! Even more than during the barrier collapse! Fascinating, isn't it!?" Lich cackled.
Stan sighed. "Just tell me why my men turned into this."
"THE ANSWER-IS HIM!" Lich pressed a button dramatically.
Zzzzz…. Zzzzz….
A monitor changes into a Vandorian man peacefully snoring in a cell.
Solo, Lilith, and Stan stared.
"Behold! Test Subject V-1. John Doe 1!"
"…Okay…and?" Lilith said flatly.
Lich switched to the Vandorian's cells.
"What!? Humans also have the goddess virus?" Lilith gasped.
"That's correct! Humans, beastmen, avians—every intelligent race! Conclusion: when demons eat other races, raw or cooked, the dormant virus in them reactivates at exponential rates! MUHAHAHAHA!"
"…Demons won't like hearing they can't eat people anymore," Solo muttered.
"But I ate humans. Why am I fine?" Stan asked.
"Huh? Oh, you, Lilith, basically any demons ranked noble or higher can easily kill the virus with your antibodies. I've tested it long ago."
Stan blinks. "When did you test me? I never—"
"Well duh, I know where your houses are."
"LICH!!!" Lilith roared.
"Anyway!" Lich clapped. "Time for the next part!"
He changed the view of John Doe to a special thermal feed, a new tech Lich asked Bub to make. In the field outside, a hidden platform rose, lifting John Doe (still on his bed) into the open air, making him awake and startled.
The resemblance to the Jurassic Park goat scene was… uncanny.
"Since when did we have that containment setup?" Stan whispered to an officer.
"We don't, sir. Sir Lich built it this morning with his magic."
"And no one stopped him?"
"No one wanted to be drafted into his skeleton workforce, sir."
Another Vandorian was raised from a hatch. Skeleton assistants rushed over, tossed each man a sword, and ran back.
Lich's voice boomed from the speakers:
"EHM, GOOD MORNING, TEST SUB—UHH, I MEAN VANDORIANS. THANK YOU FOR COOPERATING IN THIS EXPERIMENT. NOW IF YOU PLEASE, WOULD YOU START KILLING EACH OTHER?"
John Doe got the gist of it. He is being used as entertainment for the demons. Sometimes he and his troops also do that with the prisoners.
"OH, AND AS USUAL. IF YOU DON'T, WE WILL KILL BOTH OF YOU."
The younger Vandorian trembled. "P-please—we don't have to—"
SLAAASH
The veteran John Doe ended it quickly. Mercy killing.
"I'm sorry, kid… I want to live."
Inside the tent, Lich pointed at the thermal image monitor.
"Ooooh! Look at the particles leaving his body! I think my theory is getting somewhere!"
Lilith squinted. "The goddess virus is… exiting?"
"Yes! Stage two! Stan, my friend, please bring out the next one."
"Tch, fine," replies Stan.
John Doe nervously waited for a response.
"Uh… Excuse me… Can I go now?"
"AH, SORRY-SORRY, NOW WE CONTINUE WITH THE NEXT STAGE."
A Murican soldier approached with a rifle. He looked deeply uncomfortable.
John Doe panicked. "I—Is this my next opponent!?"
"CORRECT!"
John Doe is scared. He has witnessed how powerful the demons are. But then again, this time it's only one soldier, maybe he can survive this.
"You there!" John Doe raises his sword to the Murican soldier. "Back then I couldn't see even any of your soldiers' faces, but now we're face-to-face! I will strike you down!"
"Sigh…" the Murican soldier replies.
John Doe activated every combat skill he had, praying desperately to the goddess. Inside the tent, alarms and clattering sounded—something was happening inside his cells.
"What the hell!?" Solo shouted.
On the screen, John Doe's goddess virus was multiplying like crazy.
"Oh my, they're pulsing! HAHAHA!" Lich scribbled on a polygraph.
John Doe charged, faster and stronger than before.
BANG
One clean shot. John Doe collapsed.
More particles rose from his body in the special thermal vision.
Lilith swallowed. "Why did the virus multiply that much? His prayer?"
"No, Fear!" Lich said, eyes alight. "Fear of demons triggers the growth. They've been taught since childhood that demons drag souls to hell. They fear demons far more than anything else."
"And… where do the particles go?" Stan asked quietly.
Lich paused, waiting for them to say it.
Solo exhaled heavily. "…To the goddess. She's feeding on it."
Lich threw his arms up triumphantly.
"CORRECT!" Lich howls. "The entire planet is the goddess's farm! And every race—humans, demons, beastmen—we're all nothing but cattle! Isn't that AMAZING!? HAHAHAHA!"