Chapter 103: The Demon Gods’ Invitation

I looked at the notifications that I got from my recent godly blessings, and among them, there was a really interesting title.

Demon Saintess of Falsehood and Alchemy.

“It even came with a new Title… yikes. I hope this doesn’t have long-term ramifications beyond my wildest imaginings,” I sighed, trying hard to clear my mind of unnecessary worries. “Well, whatever the case, thanks for sponsoring me— I mean, blessing me or whatever. Is there something you need?”

As I asked that question, there was only silence for several long seconds.

Until…

[The Demon Gods have requested a meeting.]

[You possess sufficient Divine Power for a brief encounter.]

[Do you accept their invitation?]

[WARNING: There’s a chance the gods may attempt to harm you. The system cannot provide protection in such a case.]

[Yes] [No]

“Ah…” I was left completely speechless. “You want to… meet me?”

Solaris and Tierra had been a little more chill about this kind of thing. They only requested a meeting after I had already given them a large amount of Faith. This sudden invitation felt far more surprising.

Do I trust them enough to go?

Not really, right?

It’s too risky.

But at the same time, the System clearly stated that I have enough Divine Power to face them.

If they try to harm me, maybe I could benefit from that and harm them back in return…

Maybe even take a piece of their souls if they try anything funny?

I still have the Divine Soul Orb as well.

It’s risky as hell, but the intrusive thoughts are winning this time.

“Brunhild, I wouldn’t recommend doing—”

“Okay!”

I pressed [YES] without even thinking clearly. The simple fact that this would be the first time I met actual Demon Gods in person excited me more than I wanted to admit.

Even more so when they had always been so freaking mysterious in the original game!

FLASH!

I suddenly felt a wave of red and purple light encompass my entire body, consuming me completely.

Then darkness swallowed me, and it became the only thing I could see.

An endless expanse of pure darkness stretched in every direction.

But then…

Amidst this darkness, I saw something utterly gigantic resting silently in the void.

It was humanoid and extremely skinny, with long twig-like arms and legs. It wore dozens of colorful clothes wrapped together in an extravagant, almost chaotic fashion.

His face was fully covered, revealing only a white mask that showed both a crying and a smiling expression at the same time.

The empty eye sockets of the mask glowed with ominous red light as they stared directly into my very soul.

As I approached that massive being, one of his hands stretched slowly toward me, revealing itself to be utterly gigantic — bigger than entire mountains.

And it was chimeric. One finger was covered in brown fur, another had green scales, another was covered in bright red feathers, and others ended in sharp talons or long claws.

The hands of this massive, bizarre creature were the only parts left uncovered, showing their true form. Beneath all those layers of clothing was an endlessly shifting chimera-like being.

A mimic with no true fixed shape.

This was…

“The Demon God of Falsehood and Trickery, Furoh…!” I muttered, gasping in recognition.

But then I suddenly fell, unable to be grasped by his enormous hand. I slipped right through and tumbled into the black void below.

“Whaaaaa?!”

I screamed, terrified of what might happen if I fell into this endless darkness.

But as I fell, I saw something below me.

It grew larger the farther I dropped, eventually revealing its shape to be an utterly enormous obsidian cauldron, beautifully decorated with gold and red jewels.

It floated in the middle of the void, endlessly boiling while producing multi-colored steam that spread outward like a vast nebula. From that nebula, thousands of small stars were being born without end.

“Wow…” I muttered in pure disbelief. Then I finally saw what was boiling inside the cauldron. “Huh?!”

There was an endless sea of thick purple goop, stretching as far as the eye could see and bubbling without rest.

“Wait, wait, wait!!!”

SPLASH!

I fell straight into the sea of purple goop. It was viscous, slimy, and warm — but not warm enough to boil me alive. In fact, it felt strangely comforting at first.

“Guuugh…!”

However, it was incredibly dense and heavy. The more I tried to swim upward, the more it pulled me deeper and deeper into its abyss.

But then…

The goop moved as if it were alive, lifting me carefully into a gigantic hand.

“E-Eh? Cough… W-What the…? Ah!”

My eyes widened as I finally realized who this was. The goddess was not the cauldron itself, but the living mass that boiled inside of it.

A giantess made entirely of purple goop — a slime?!

She quickly took the form of a beautiful, voluptuous woman made of transparent purple slime, with kind golden eyes and long, gently waving tentacled hair.

Clothes resembling those of a classic witch quickly materialized around her body as she separated from the slime sea below and rose higher into the void.

A pointed witch hat appeared above her head as she greeted me with a kind, almost motherly smile.

“W-Welcome, Brunhild… Um, sorry about that… I-I couldn’t really… tell where you would appear!” she apologized nervously. “T-This is my first time doing this— Furoh insisted!”

“A-Ah… You’re the Demon Goddess of Alchemy and Science, Violet!” I said in recognition. “So your name comes from the color of your slime…”

Violet nodded gently. “Y-Yes! My master… she named me after the color of my slime. Long ago… before the new age had even begun, she, Furoh, Armageddon, Beelzebub, and many more of us all served her as her familiars.”

“?! ” I was even more shocked by this unexpected revelation.

Who could this mysterious “Master” be that they were talking about?

Could there be some kind of Demon God King I had never heard of — the true creator of all the Demon Gods?

“Violet,” the tall figure I had encountered earlier suddenly appeared in front of the massive cauldron. “What did we talk about regarding revealing too much to mortals? These are forbidden secrets.”

“B-But you said she was…” Violet muttered quietly. “Ah, well, you’re right.”

I stood there completely dumbfounded, staring at both Demon Gods. Their auras were immensely oppressive, and yet I felt no weakness or harm at all. They were clearly being careful not to overwhelm me.

“Anyway! Welcome,” said Furoh in a playful tone. “I invited you mostly because I wanted to get a good look at you. Nothing else, really.”

“E-Eh?” I muttered, looking back at the trickster god. “Excuse me, sir… I noticed that your hands…”

“Hm?” He glanced down at his chimeric hands. “Yes, I once was a Shapeshifting Mimic Demon, but that was… so long ago! Hahaha. I used to be so afraid of everything back then, but Master was with me to teach me how to become strong…”

Wait… what was that about not revealing information just a moment ago?

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