"Hahaha."
It wasn’t that I was doing it on purpose.
It just ended up that way as I burst out laughing in front of the entire world. Something about Leon’s face felt extremely amusing to me.
’I’ve been thinking of ways to get back at him, but it looks like I don’t have to do anything at all. This gift... what a pleasant gift this is.’
But no.
This was still not enough for me.
This was Paimon, not me. It felt satisfying to see him like this, but it was still not me.
My laughter didn’t last for very long as I felt the attention of the entire arena on me.
Wiping the corner of my eye, I just looked at Leon.
He was staring back, but his expression was a far cry from relaxed.
Amidst the silence, I started to hear whispers.
"No way."
"It can’t be true. There’s no way..."
"Why is it like this?"
"It’s a lie. It has to be a lie."
The more I heard, the more I felt like laughing again. Although I couldn’t see my face, I probably looked constipated from my attempt at holding back my laughter.
’This is killing me.’
But I couldn’t laugh for long as the footage continued.
This time, the angle shifted once more.
And as Leon left the group, it suddenly became my turn.
Once more, the noise around the arena fell, with some voices saying, ’Wait, how is this possible? Isn’t he supposed to be dead?’
I questioned this myself, but then again, I had never died in the first place.
—A trick. Yeah... it must be a trick.
I watched my mental breakdown before everyone present.
—I won’t die. I will not die.
I watched myself scream at the hanging body that stood in front of me.
—There’s absolutely no way!!
The way in which people looked at me seemed to change. I could feel the members of my squad look at me with worry as I kept my attention fixed on the screen. Honestly, everything had felt like a blur to me back then.
I didn’t remember much of it, or it was more like I had completely erased it from my memory.
Eventually, the scene shifted back to the party going on outside.
Esteban and Drake appeared once more as they enjoyed the wines and drinks presented to them. They both looked intoxicated as they seemed to have lost themselves to the pleasure, while Paimon approached me and his words reverberated across the surroundings.
—What do you even struggle so much for? Isn’t it because you want to live a good life without the disease that has been plaguing you? In that case, you’re free at the moment. The disease will no longer restrict you.
Some things had been left out, but the truth behind my disease hadn’t.
My lips opened, but what could I even say?
’Why did he leave those words in?’
—You’re starting to open your eyes, Seth. I’m really happy that you’re seeing the truth.
—...Let yourself go. There’s no need to struggle any longer.
—Have fun.
As Paimon’s soft voice reverberated through the surroundings, I could feel several people gulp at once as they stared blankly at the screen. Though he wasn’t present, his whispers almost seemed to reach those watching.
As if his words were striking directly at their inner desires.
And that’s what made Paimon so creepy. From the start, he had never forced me to be there.
He never forces anyone to be there.
He... just tried to convince them to stay there.
’I can’t believe I survived something like this.’
Then, I raised the glass of wine in my hand and cheered alongside the others. The party commenced, and laughter echoed throughout. In that moment, I heard many gasps; the stares directed at me were even more bothersome.
This became even worse as they watched every single interaction that came after, and how I was slowly starting to lose my name and identity. Some screamed, ’It’s obvious! Why are you not realizing this!?’, while others covered their faces.
But soon, such reactions faded.
—Spurt!
Especially from the moment I took my eye.
The noise ceased. It was so quiet that one would even hear a pin drop. Some understood why I did what I did, while others just looked at me as if I were crazy.
But that was just the start.
Soon, I started to cut my wrists.
Paimon’s voice drifted across the stadium as everyone heard.
—Why do you want to leave? You were so comfortable a few moments ago. What is it that is pushing you to leave this place? Is the very idea of dying bad for you?
His words were soft, and yet so enticing.
But even in those moments, I never fell for his temptations.
Each time, I’d sacrifice something new.
—Akh!
The sound of my screams echoed across the arena as many flinched.
Some screamed.
"T-that’s... Squad Leader."
The worried voices of those around me entered my ear, but I just stood quietly, staring at what was happening to me.
It felt weird staring at it from a different perspective.
But soon, cracks started to appear on my face.
—But are you sure they’ll struggle without you?
—...They won’t.
Oh...
I remembered this moment clearly as I pursed my lips.
As expected, not all gifts were great gifts. Paimon had omitted a lot of things, but he had kept others in the recordings.
For a King like him, I knew that he knew almost everything about me.
He also knew what would stir things up with those around me.
—You know it, right?
—I know it.
I felt a subtle shift coming from Joanna and the others, but I didn’t look at them.
I continued to watch.
—Ariel alone can do what you can’t do. She’s much more suited to leading the team than you are. With her, they can climb places that they’ll never reach with you. In that case, what are you useful for?
—Will there be anyone who will miss you?
—No.
—So why do you keep struggling?
And soon—
—That’s not it. I’ve... never cared about what others do without me.
I closed my eyes in that moment.
’I don’t get it. Why are they showing all of this? How is this relevant to the Congress?’
Opening my eyes again, my attention fell on the screens once more.
The scenes only became more brutal after that.
Fingers. Toes. Arm. Leg.
Hunger.
Starvation.
Gradually, I watched all the things that I put myself through in that situation.
Even though everything had happened in a matter of hundreds of days, everything was cut and assembled in a way that it made it all seem like it happened in seconds.
But those were a lot of hours of footage...
’How did the footage capture that many hours? And how were they able to edit it so quickly? Did Paimon do something?’
Yes, this felt like the only real answer to the situation.
Very likely, he had removed the time dilation.
But that didn’t matter.
As I watched myself put myself through so much pain, I had long noticed the quietness around me. It was so silent that it almost felt stifling.
The only thing that carried through the silence was the sound of my screams in the speakers, but even those died out at some point. The next few scenes were rather grotesque, prompting some to cover their eyes.
It got to the point where some even started protesting.
"How long is this going to go for?"
"Make it stop."
"Make it—"
It did stop.
The scene did stop.
Everything turned black.
At least, for a moment.
When the cameras returned, it was from a different angle.
Blood spilled again.
But this time, it wasn’t my blood.
It was Drake’s blood as I saw a figure stab down on him.
"Eurk——!!"
His muffled scream filled the surroundings as his body shook. Many gasped, but when the image became clear, it became quiet again as I stood in front of Drake, my hand dripping with blood, as I reached for his mouth and covered it.
—It’s... time for you to wake up. Ke...
A hoarse, almost brittle voice filled the surroundings.
—...I’ve figured it out. Kek... A way to beat this.
Those were the first moments everyone saw it.
The madness.