NOVPUBThe Demon That Displayed Its Power
As soon as Alice was turned into minced meat, I instinctively knew—I had to run.
If that enormous hand came crashing down, there would be no more exploration, no more anything. We’d all be dead.
That hand had burst from the ceiling the moment Alice scoffed at the question about believing in God.
Almost as if delivering divine punishment.
A trap triggered by mockery?
Or did God actually punish the demon...? No, what nonsense. A mechanical arm couldn’t possibly be God.
When the monsters attacked us recklessly, I thought the Organization was using us as a living sacrifice.
After all, there had been such cases before.
But when Alice displayed her power, I felt a glimmer of hope.
Having a demon as an ally is quite reassuring.
I also thought, for a moment, that maybe the Organization wasn’t entirely set on killing us.
But now, I was reconsidering everything.
We might just be damned sacrifices after all.
"Maerson! Where do we go? The path splits!"
Plevins called out to me.
I noticed another signpost ahead and gestured to Erta.
"There’s a sign! Read it!"
"If you believe in God, go right. If you don’t, go straight."
I had to think for a moment.
The sign clearly wanted us to believe in God.
I understood its intent.
But what was the right choice?
If that enormous mechanical arm that just appeared considered itself God, would appeasing it be the right decision?
Or, as explorers, should we avoid being swayed by what might be a trap?
The decision didn’t take even three seconds.
That massive mechanical arm was slamming down behind us, coming our way.
"...We’re going straight!"
We charged forward.
The ground trembled as monsters erupted from beneath the floor, screeching like grinding metal.
Andrew knocked them aside with his body while we fired our guns to keep them at bay.
After barely pushing through, we reached another sign and another split in the path.
"Again?!"
"Do you believe in fate? If yes, go left. If no, go right."
It was similar to the last one.
And likely meant something similar. I glanced behind us and spoke.
"That mechanical arm is slower than I expected. Erta, what do you think?"
"I... I..."
Erta hesitated, and before she could answer, Plevins yelled, out of patience.
"What’s there to ask?! There’s no such thing as fate! Even if I were doomed to die, I wouldn’t waste time debating it!"
"Got it. We’re choosing ‘No, we don’t believe in fate’!"
We dashed to the right.
The path was tangled with a mass of crisscrossing threads, blocking our way.
Andrew cursed at the ridiculous obstacle before drawing a sharp blade from his mechanical arm and slashing at them.
"Damn it, these things are tough!"
Plevins shouted.
"The monsters are coming from behind!"
While Andrew hacked at the threads, we kept the approaching monsters at bay with gunfire.
"How much longer?!"
"I’m cutting fast, but these damn things won’t break easily!"
"I-I’ll try! Everyone, cover your eyes and noses!"
Erta removed the special fabric that had been covering her body.
A corrosive toxic vapor spread out, thinning the threads and even melting some of them entirely.
"It worked! Keep your eyes shut and run!"
Constant tension.
In the midst of it, I had a thought.
Does this maze even have an end?
If the purpose of that mechanical arm was to make us believe in God, wouldn’t it just keep us trapped here until we either died or surrendered?
I wasn’t sure what the others were thinking.
But I turned to Plevins, someone both greedy and rational.
"Plevins. That mechanical arm—its goal is to make us believe in God."
"God? Who? Which one?"
"No idea. Maybe the damn arm itself wants to be worshiped."
"..."
Plevins was thinking—or more accurately, calculating.
Rather than trying to overcome this situation, she seemed to be looking for a loophole. A way to negotiate with that thing.
As we ran, a new sign appeared.
"Humans are imperfect, and therefore can never reach a truly happy ending. Do you agree?"
"What the hell does this thing want from us? Maerson, should we just pick ‘Disagree’ again?"
"..."
Instead of answering, I stared at Plevins.
I wanted to hear her opinion.
Plevins understood my intent and made a suggestion.
"No. Let’s humor it this time."
"Huh?"
"What if it keeps us trapped until we agree? Let’s just go with it this time."
Andrew, apparently seeing no harm in trying, didn’t object.
I also agreed and told the team,
"Alright. We’re taking the ‘Agree’ path."
The moment we stepped onto the path of agreement, we felt our bodies lift.
It was stronger than the sensation of an elevator descending.
We were being lowered.
[B4F – Opportunity]
"...Where is this?"
We had landed in an entirely white space.
A faint ticking of gears echoed, making it feel like a place meant to break the mind.
I scanned the surroundings and noticed someone approaching.
Even though there was no sound of footsteps.
"Ah, you’ve arrived. That must mean... we may have aligned interests."
A human clad in white, with gears embedded into their body.
Their face was concealed, but judging by their tone, they were smiling.
Andrew, unsettled by the unfamiliar environment, demanded,
"Hey, buddy. You’re seriously creeping me out, so answer me straight. Who the hell are you?"
The stranger replied,
"I am the High Priest of this place. I have no name."
"What is this factory for?"
"Hmm... To the eye, it appears to be a factory. But in truth, it is a stage. A stage for all those in the Organization who are watching in real time."
Plevins scowled at the answer.
"So, you want to show us something? Well, we just want to get out. Mind showing us the exit? We’re not interested in playing along."
"Oh, that is possible. Of course. As long as you swear to worship our God."
So that was it.
This factory’s purpose was to make us believe.
As I came to this conclusion, Plevins looked like she was about to explode with rage but held back, quickly switching to a faux-polite, bureaucratic tone.
"Ha, what a load of b—... Ahem. Alright, fine. Sure. We’ll worship your machine god. Now, will you let us out?"
"I see. In that case—"
"What are you doing?"
The High Priest said nothing.
Just as we were about to demand an answer—
Plevins suddenly screamed.
"AAAH! IT’S SO LOUD!"
"Plevins! What’s wrong?!"
Plevins clutched her ears, trembling.
"Too loud, too loud, TOO LOUD! MAKE IT STOP!"
"...!"
I rushed to Plevins, trying to assess her condition.
A Strange Noise Inside Plevins’ Head
I realized that something was reverberating inside Plevins' mind.
Just like how you can feel the vibrations in the air when a jukebox is turned up too loud, something enormous was blaring in her head.
"KYAAAAAAAH!"
With a loud POP!, Plevins' skull flew into the air before crashing to the ground.
Gears were embedded deep inside her damaged brain.
Andrew was caught between terror and fury, his expression twisted in confusion.
Then, a distorted voice echoed from the ceiling.
[One who placed faith upon the scales. The unholy, who sought to barter with God, shall receive a light punishment through the mercy of the gears.]
"...Shit."
Even in this situation, I had no energy left to scold Andrew for cursing.
"See? You should’ve been a little more sincere in your faith."
"You bastard—!"
I raised my gun at the High Priest, but before I could pull the trigger, I felt it again—
That unsettling sensation of falling.
[5th Floor – Tangled Threads]
"We were teleported."
This time, we were in darkness. But the faint light seeping from the lower floor was enough for us to see each other.
"...No enemies, it seems."
I turned my gaze downward, toward the source of the light.
The floor beneath us was transparent, allowing a clear view of the level below.
"What the hell is that?"
"Probably the 6th floor. It’s swarming with monsters."
Fused creatures—half-machine, half-human—were wandering below, shrieking.
Among them, one particular figure stood out.
"...Plevins."
Plevins was crawling, her skull missing.
I wasn’t sure if she was alive or dead, but since she was still screaming... she was alive.
...It would have been better if she weren’t.
"Goddammit! I KNEW this would happen! The monsters are wearing the same uniforms as us! How many times has this happened already?!"
Andrew exploded in rage.
Everyone had come here with their own resolve, their own reasons.
But experiencing it firsthand was a different story.
At this rate, we were all going to end up like that.
Calling this an "expedition" was laughable. It was a death trap.
Faced with no solutions, all we had left to express was despair and anger.
I understood Andrew’s frustration.
"...Why did HQ send us here? We’re just... different. That’s all. How the hell are we supposed to fight against those monsters and that massive mechanical arm...?"
Erta, too, was unraveling, her voice shaking with despair.
And I could feel it spreading to me as well.
A strange sensation.
Something was off.
Realizing the unnatural pull of my emotions, I forced myself to speak coldly.
"We fulfill our duty, that’s all."
"That’s all?! That’s what you have to say?!"
That was a mistake. Andrew grabbed me by the collar.
I thought I understood his feelings, but his reaction was unnaturally intense.
"W-Wait, I was just saying something depressing, not trying to start a fight!"
Emotions and thoughts were becoming tangled, like a knot of thread being pulled too tight.
For a brief moment, I even had the impulse to shoot Andrew.
Erta, panicked, jumped in to stop us.
"...Alright. Let’s cool off. Huff... So why the hell are we even here? What are we supposed to do in a place swarming with monsters? How is this an expedition? We’re just sacrifices."
She added that there had to be something worth investigating for it to even be called an expedition.
"The Organization has sent multiple teams here, and if this is all being broadcasted, then they must know exactly what’s going on inside."
"That leaves us with three possible reasons: Sacrifice. Attack. Experimentation."
Erta and Andrew started to listen closely.
I gave them my honest, if grim, analysis.
"Sacrifice. The only way to ensure these monsters never escape is for everyone sent here to either die or be converted into one of them.
Or to become worshippers of the Machine God."
Before Andrew could snap, I continued.
"Second possibility: Attack.
What if that machine god chose us? If we refused, disaster would strike, and the Organization had no choice but to send us here.
That would mean the Organization itself is under attack and we’re just unavoidable sacrifices.
If that’s the case, at least HQ might still want to help us..."
"That’s bullshit."
"I agree. But humans can’t help but hold on to hope."
"...And the third possibility?"
"Experimentation.
They wanted to see if Alice could wipe out the monsters in this factory.
In other words, everything so far was just a combat trial for Alice."
"But then..."
"...It failed."
"..."
The cute, playful Alice had been turned into a pile of meat before she even had a chance to fight.
That meant we had nothing left. No hope.
I started preparing to descend to the next floor.
"See that? That looks like the way down. We should go."
Neither Erta nor Andrew responded.
I tried to reason with them.
"Waiting here won’t change anything.
Let’s be honest—HQ won’t send a rescue team.
We’re just the 66th attempt."
"..."
"Erta."
I called her name. She was trembling.
This time, she didn’t bother hiding her fear.
"But if we go down, what do we even do? How are we supposed to survive?"
The floor below us had even more monsters than the ones Alice had put to sleep.
If we went down there now, we would die—unless a miracle happened.
But we had no choice.
Even if it meant sacrificing someone, we had to move forward.
It was the only option.
"Should I just make a suicide charge? My body is filled with lethal poison—if I die, at least the lower floor will be wiped out, right?! Right?!"
It was a logical idea.
We had purification equipment, so if Erta died, her venom would spread, melting the monsters.
But I didn’t want her to die for that.
Fighting and dying was one thing. Sending her down there to die on purpose was murder.
"You’re losing control. Both of you."
Something was off.
Our emotions were spiraling.
Was it the nature of this floor?
Or just the sheer extremity of our situation?
"...Maerson. There’s another sign over there. My cybernetic eye can see in the dark."
Andrew spoke suddenly, his voice boiling with rage.
"I am PISSED. I can’t control it!"
"I know."
"That sign says 'Faith'. You know what? I’d rather go down there and kill this so-called Machine God myself!"
"That’s reckless, Andrew. Wait!"
Andrew was the biggest and strongest among us.
I couldn’t stop him without shooting, and I wasn’t going to do that.
I lost him.
He ran into the darkness, disappearing down another staircase.
"..."
Erta and I waited in silence.
And then, from above, the voice returned.
[One who raises arms against God. You shall be absolved by becoming His servant. Your Organization shall be my cherished flock, and I shall grant you immortality.]
BOOM!
A grotesquely transformed Andrew fell from the ceiling.
His body was bent at impossible angles, his head and spine twisted beyond recognition.
The mechanical organs within him had erupted outward, whirring ominously.
"Why... Why is this happening?!"
I grabbed Erta and bolted for the stairs.
Andrew was beyond us now. Stronger than any of the other monsters.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
[Basement Level 8: Repentance]
I didn’t have the luxury of figuring out what this floor was.
Clutching my head, I resisted the strange force that kept stimulating my brain.
It felt like I had become an empty shell—nothing else came to mind.
One by one, my thoughts vanished, leaving behind only the most primitive of questions.
‘Why... why am I doing this?’
Why am I here?
Then, I noticed the gun in my hand.
‘Why was I holding a gun? Why am I enduring this pain?’
I dropped the gun.
It hit the ground with a dull thud.
But something must have been beneath it—
Because at the same moment, I heard the sharp shattering of glass.
I looked down.
A broken mirror lay there.
My own reflection, drenched in blood, stared back at me.
I had no memory of being soaked in blood, but it felt like a dream—something I instinctively dismissed.
As if this wretched state was the fitting consequence of everything I had done.
‘Chasing after an invisible, unreasonable hope... how laughable. Pathetic. A rat, not drenched in water, but in blood.’
And as soon as I thought that—
The heavens affirmed my belief.
[You are correct. By believing in me, you can find immortality and happiness. Why struggle? Become a cog, spin just once, and you shall find satisfaction.]
‘Why did I even try? Even questioning it is painful. Yes. Pain is bad.’
The moment that thought concluded, a spotlight illuminated me.
From the cosmic ceiling above, a pulley creaked and clattered.
A massive machine, bound by ropes, descended directly from above—
And spoke.
Black Background
Machine God:
You are beginning to understand, child. My joy shall become yours. Come forth. Whatever you imagine, I shall grant it.
Machine High Priest (trembling with joy):
Oh...! How holy this is! Another believer is born. Come, let us find happiness within these cold yet comforting machines!
Maerson took a step toward the Machine God.
Maerson:
Of course. I don’t even know why I struggled so hard to live. Let’s go together.
(Suddenly, his legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground.)
Thud! (The sound of him falling.)
Maerson:
Would you... take my hand, Machine God?
Machine God:
Of course. Even if you lack hands, I shall give you hands. Even if you lack legs, I shall give you legs.
The Machine God extended its hand—Maerson reached out to take it.
Maerson:
You are merciful.
Maerson...
Paused.
Lowered his head.
Machine High Priest:
Why do you not take the hand?
Maerson remained silent, staring at the ground.
The priest, puzzled, followed his gaze.
A golden mirror, gleaming brightly, reflected Maerson’s image.
Maerson:
I keep thinking. Why have I suffered all this time? (Still fixated on the mirror lying on the ground.)
Machine High Priest:
Don’t you understand that thinking itself is pain? How ignorant.
Maerson:
All this time, I’ve endured pain, obeyed orders, followed missions, because...
(He suddenly sprang up, rushed forward, and grabbed the gun.)
Maerson:
Because I could kill the monsters that took my wife with my own hands! I was a detective once. But I never found the truth behind my wife’s death!
But after coming here, unexplained deaths, secrets—I don’t know everything, but I learned enough!
(He raised the gun, aiming directly at the Machine God.)
Machine High Priest:
Blasphemy!
Machine God:
Repent.
Maerson:
This memory—this one, I will never let go! Working in the Organization, I learned there are truths you can only find through pain. I refuse to be a mindless cog!
Machine God:
Repent.
Dark Sky Filled with Heavy Storm Clouds
Maerson was tied to a guillotine.
The believers jeered at him, throwing tomatoes.
Maerson struggled desperately against his restraints.
Machine Believer:
Hahaha! Look at him squirm! Just like an ant drowning in gasoline!
Maerson:
Shut up! (Straining to free himself.) Isn’t this ridiculous?! Your skulls are filled with scrap metal instead of brains! Your clothes are on fire, and instead of putting it out, you gulp down anesthesia and laugh like fools! You should be the ones on this guillotine!
The believers cackled as the executioner prepared to release the blade.
The heavy, razor-sharp metal fell toward Maerson’s neck—
—Alice: Stop.
Maerson:
Alice?
Dark Clouds Begin to Scatter; Sunlight Peeks Through
Machine High Priest:
What—!? You were exiled!
Maerson:
Weren’t you dead?
Alice:
I’ll explain later. For now, let’s end this play.
(She lifted the hem of her skirt slightly, raised her leg high, then stomped down—)
CRAAAAASH! (The ground shattered beneath her.)
-----
“I see you wield strange and mighty power.”
I glared at the colossal machine and its priest.
They had really gone too far.
The priest pointed at me, his expression one of utter disbelief.
“Impossible! No one interrupts the play!”
“...Alice?”
Maerson was still in a daze.
I gave him a brief explanation—honestly, I wasn’t too sure myself.
“I was exiled.
I don’t know what you saw, but it must have been an illusion.
I was trapped in a black void, unable to move through mirrors.
Then, for some reason, I heard you shouting—something pulled me here.”
“...Then what about the others...?”
I couldn’t meet Maerson’s eyes.
Because what had happened to them... was real.
“...I’m sorry.”
I apologized.
Maerson’s face filled with sorrow, but he nodded.
“You, you! You blasphemous demon! How did you interrupt the play?! And to even destroy it—this shouldn’t be possible—”
The priest hesitated. Then, as if realizing something, his face twisted in horror.
“...I see. You must be the seventh! One of the demons from Mephistopheles’ tales! Not a god, yet daring to influence the stage from behind the curtain!”
“...Mephisto?”
“Don’t play dumb!”
“Haa...”
“This one doesn’t listen either.”
“...But that doesn’t make sense. No matter what, a mere demon shouldn’t be able to push back a god’s power. Not unless it’s of equal standing.”
“...Whatever the case, your stage is ruined. I don’t fully understand your authority, but from what I can tell, it activates by forcing the people in the Organization to witness your play, doesn’t it?”
The play just now. And the Organization, far, far away from here.
I could sense a faint connection between them.
Somehow, the content of the play was being substituted into real threats that the Organization would soon face...
As I rambled on about the Machine God’s authority, the priest abruptly cut me off, as if merely speaking of it was blasphemy.
“Stop. Stop!
Our god has issued a warning.
With the power to weave the threads of fate, He could have brought calamity upon you in an instant, but instead, He chose to deliver His message through a play.
To show you what happens when you refuse to believe. To teach you what punishment awaits those who act against Him.”
The priest made it sound grand, but what ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) I understood was this:
“So, in the end, you trap people in a play, push them into suffering, and then manipulate fate so that everyone who watches is forced to meet the same fate.
...The Organization sure has troublesome enemies.”
The priest, unable to contain his rage, stomped on the ground.
Alice sneered at him. “Are you sure it’s okay to kick the very ground your god resides in?”
The priest grabbed the back of his neck in frustration.
“Alice...”
I was about to tell her that provoking them too much wasn’t a good idea, but seeing his reaction, I couldn’t help the faint smirk that tugged at my lips.
The Machine God, having silently observed the scene, clenched its massive fist as the priest seethed with frustration.
Maerson, noticing the movement, warned me.
“Alice!”
“I’m not just going to stand here and take it. I’ll protect you.
That’s the least I can do as a reward for not giving up until the end.”
I grabbed Maerson and jumped.
A moment later, the impact of the Machine God’s fist shook the entire floor, nearly causing it to collapse.
Still midair, I conjured a mirror and summoned a horror.
“Uncontrollable.”
[Emergency! Emergency!]
A monstrous figure in prison rags cackled.
But the gears making up the Machine God only sputtered momentarily—there was no significant damage.
‘That barely did anything... Is it really a god?’
“Overwhelming Emotion.”
[So... so miserable...]
A masked horror with a sorrowful expression used its power.
THUD!
Yet, the Machine God’s massive arm came crashing down, crushing both horrors.
They returned to the mirror.
‘That didn’t work at all. Half-measures won’t cut it.’
I landed and summoned a massive mirror.
“Broadcast for me?”
A towering creature emerged in response to my request.
Its body was made of scrap metal, one arm holding a scythe, the other clutching an umbrella nearly as large as its frame.
[Static... chhhk... chhhk...]
Its radio-head emitted signal noise. I understood its message.
“It’s been a while. I figured you might still be somewhere inside the mirrors. We were enemies once, but will you help me this time?”
The creature that had once been the Radio-Head Demon nodded.
[Broadcast. It’s broadcast time. Residents, please prepare to dissolve in the incoming acid rain. Scrap metal should be discarded in the junkyard. Alice and the human will be fortunate.]
The radio horror’s broadcast began.
Acid rain poured down.
Maerson and I, protected by the fortune mentioned in the broadcast, remained unharmed.
“Let’s go!”
I grabbed Maerson’s arm and summoned the Avian Terror, soaring into the sky.
The plan was to break through the ceiling and escape.
“...Why is this working?”
Maerson’s question was understandable.
The acid rain was melting the priest away.
The Machine God’s body had begun to rust.
But—
“It’s not that easy!”
[The skies will clear, and the useless scrap will collapse like a pile of stones. No more than rubble.]
The rain ceased.
It was obvious. A god capable of weaving fate’s threads wouldn’t be hindered by something as simple as rain.
Even worse, it had suppressed the Radio-Head Demon’s power entirely. The difference in their abilities was clear.
[Disaster alert! Beware of impact!]
The Machine God swung its right arm at the horror.
BOOM!
The Radio-Head Demon tried to block with its enormous umbrella, but it only withstood one blow before shattering.
Its massive body was hurled backward from the impact.
[Such pitiful resistance.]
[A train is arriving. Passengers, please step forward and be crushed to death.]
[Foolish.]
Twenty trains charged toward the Machine God on separate tracks.
But with a mere wave of its hand, they derailed, leaving only minor scratches before vanishing.
Then, it grabbed the Radio-Head Demon and crushed it.
[Broadcast terminated... Have a pleasant day.]
...
Damn.
I felt it.
The Radio-Head Demon had suffered irreparable damage and retreated into the mirror.
Now, the Machine God would pursue us in earnest.
I turned to Maerson.
“I can’t think of a way to defeat it with horrors alone. We’re running out of time. Maerson, is anyone living nearby?”
“This place is in the farthest corner of the Great Plains. There’s nothing within 300 kilometers except this building.”
“Perfect.”
I conjured a mirror and summoned horrors specialized in locating people.
“Find everyone in the area.”
The horrors swiftly identified every human presence nearby and relayed the coordinates to me.
“Good.”
One by one, I opened mirrors at each location and stepped through.
The Organization agents were stunned when I appeared.
“What the—?!”
I grabbed them and shoved them into the mirrors.
“No time to explain!”
I repeated this process until every human in the vicinity had been thrown into the mirror.
Then, I summoned the Avian Terror once more and took to the sky.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
A deafening tremor erupted from below as the Machine God pursued us, tearing through the earth.
Brute force—it was nothing but brute force.
I finally answered Maerson’s question.
“...I’m using the very thing you fired at me.”
“...What?”
“Nuclear missiles.”
“...What?”
Don’t look at me like I’m crazy, Maerson.
This is the only way.
That thing has been manipulating fate to deflect long-range weapons.
If we weren’t this close, it wouldn’t land.
“Are you out of your mind?!”
“You guys thought it was fine to fire at me! I’m only launching four of the eight you had!”
I conjured a massive mirror.
From within, four nuclear missiles emerged.
Before they could detonate, I grabbed Maerson and prepared to escape into the mirror.
But then—
The Machine God emerged from the ground.
And spoke.
[You are formidable, even as an enemy, little demon. But this body is merely a vessel. The fragmented minds that guide me... they are close to you.]
“...”
[Next time—will you be able to protect them?]
I bit my lip.
Without hesitation, I pulled Maerson into the mirror.
