Story Reader / Affection / Vera: Geiravor / Story
Hey, wake up... The curse... It's already here!
Q-quick, wake up... We're g-going to be too late...!
Damn it, how can you be sleeping so deeply?!
In a daze, you hear chaotic voices, followed by violent shaking of your body.
Opening your eyes, you see not the familiar system prompts, but the anxious faces of two guards.
Get up now! We need to go! The Demon Lord has ordered you to leave the castle immediately!
"That thing" is about to arrive... Hey, take this! Your village's finest sword!
While speaking, the guard tosses the previously confiscated weapon to the hero.
There's no time to explain!
With the guard's shout, you finally notice the eerie changes that are taking place in this prison cell.
Uncanny shadows flow across the surrounding walls, as if alive and sentient. Your heightened senses detect a subtle, oppressive pressure bearing down.
Before you can even take a closer look, flowing shadows surge in from all directions. The spaces they sweep through leave nothing but distorted air in their wake.
The shadows surge forward rapidly, ensnaring the lead guard's arm in the blink of an eye.
Oh ****... Dammit!
What the **** is this thing... argh!
Gripping the village's finest sword once more, the hero slices through the black mist ensnaring the guard.
ZZZZT!
Warning. Warning. Character deviation, detected.
Multiple boundary violations, detected. Forced progression protocol, activated.
Auto-completing storyline progression... Auto-navigation activated.
The system pauses briefly, then a tidal wave of data floods into your mind, compressing every region of memory.
The hero brings the disaster-summoning red rose to the Demon Lord's hall. Feigning sincerity, the hero confesses their feelings, winning the Demon Lord's trust and favor. Then, without hesitation, the hero summons a curse that even the Demon Lord cannot break, grasping and utterly consuming the Demon Lord...
The hero then leaves the starter village, navigates countless adventures, overcomes innumerable challenges, slays the Black Dragon King to claim its bones, then destroys the Kuro Tower to master the art of time reversal, and finally connects the three realms to become the invincible Supreme Sovereign. But on a snowy night...
But on a snowy night, the Supreme Sovereign hero arrives at a long-abandoned castle and sees the thorny garden blooming with red roses. Suddenly, the hero realizes that the arrogant, imperious Demon Lord had left a scar upon the hero's heart...
Hey! What's going on?!
What?!
The guard slaps the hero hard across the body, causing the system in their mind to flicker and glitch.
*&*(%)/~*@)@#!——#*(~&$(*!@*/*/!
—System update anchor point confirmed: Castle Hall.
With the guards' help, the mental restraints in the hero's mind momentarily loosen. The hero gives the guards a surprised look, then immediately grabs them and starts running.
There is no time to comprehend what these terrifying shadows truly are. The scenery from yesterday has transformed completely.
Stone walls and decorations alike have been consumed by the shadows. A piercing chill invades the air—even breathing while running feels like it is corrupting the organs inside. In this situation, what fate awaits the Demon Lord?
It's... a c-curse...
W-when... when all the p-petals fall from that rose, the c-curse will take effect... E-everything in this c-castle will d-disappear...
H-hey, are you trying to get yourself killed? If you keep that flower... the D-Demon Lord will be fur—mmph!
Did my subordinates not tell you what "roses" mean to me?
Yes! Many years ago, the Demon Lord was cursed by a red rose! That's why she hates roses so much!
But the curse wasn't supposed to take effect until midnight tonight... How is it activating now... Could she have accepted that rose from yesterday?!
M-my lord said... e-everything will... disappear...
I'm so scared... W-when that s-shadow devours me, will it... will it h-hurt...
This is all because of you! You conniving human!
The hero opens their mouth to object, but then recalls the garbage plot that spilled out when the system malfunctioned earlier. To their dismay, they realize—this situation really does seem to be of their own making.
Meanwhile, the shadows from behind have caught up and seized the two hapless guards.
Tch! What a pain... Why won't it go after you instead!
B-bro... Your body is a-already...
The shadows entangle the two more deeply with each passing moment. Even with the hero helping to slash them away, they gradually fail to keep pace with the speed of corruption.
You... if you're really "blessed by the light"... can you please help my lord?!
Because...
Technor suddenly gives the hero a meaningful look.
Because my lord hasn't been this happy in ages!
D-don't worry, we are the D-Demon Lord's guards, we'll break f-free as well—waaaahh...
The hero reaches out to grab them, but the two guards' forms are already growing transparent—then dissolve completely into the shadows.
Everything returns to nothingness, everything surrenders to the surging shadows.
The castle no longer bears its original form, and the path forward is completely blocked by flowing shadows.
The hero instinctively steps back, but the shadows follow relentlessly. The arm closest to the darkness is instantly enveloped by a bone-chilling cold.
A single moment of hesitation proves fatal—before the hero can grip their weapon to defend, the piercing cold freezes their limbs solid.
Meanwhile, the system speaks up again.
Forced correction, forced correction.
The hero's breathing becomes increasingly difficult, as if trapped in a viscous swamp of darkness. Everything begins to condense and solidify...
But before the sticky cold completely consumes their consciousness, the hero feels a firm grip on their wrist.
...
...I knew I just couldn't accept this ending.
Bzzzt—
A familiar voice breaks through the chaotic barrier, bringing clarity back to your fading consciousness.
Fiery red light pierces through the darkness, revealing a person whose flowing crimson hair stands out vividly.
The hero struggles to stabilize their mind as their vision gradually sharpens—the face before them is still that of Demon Lord Vera.
But the moment of elation lasts only an instant. The hero quickly notices traces of shadow already spreading across the Demon Lord's body.
Warning. Warning. Story sequence disruption detected. Initiating correction. Initiating correction.
Excruciating pain tears through every inch of the hero's body as their limbs begin to melt away, while the Demon Lord—
She swiftly grabs the hero's wrist and pulls them into a tight embrace.
...Why does it have to be you?
She seems to lament, an emotion she rarely displays.
Those "monkeys" outside have evolved to be too cunning. Even after hundreds of years... they still refuse to spare the last survivor of the "human era."
Never mind. I've been a thorn in their side for a long time. This time, they've finally found the right approach.
Seems you still don't understand anything, little puppet.
She holds the hero tightly in her embrace, showing no sign of letting go even as the shadows spread across her entire body.
She lowers her head, gently touching her forehead to the hero's brow, as if trying to describe every detail through her skin.
...If possible, connect to me again, [player name].
It's been so long since I've shared these centuries of nightmares with anyone...
A strange, piercing sensation cuts through the system's chaos, directly penetrating the hero's consciousness.
Like a familiar ray of light.
